Asian Education Systems Research Articles

Applying Machine Learning and SHAP Method to Identify Key Influences on Middle-School Students' Mathematics Literacy Performance.

The PISA 2022 literacy assessment highlights a significant decline in math performance among most OECD countries, with the magnitude of this decline being approximately three times that of the previous round. Remarkably, Hong Kong, Macao, Taipei, Singapore, Japan, and Korea ranked in the top six among all participating countries or economies, with Taipei, Singapore, Japan, and Korea also demonstrating improved performance. Given the widespread concern about the factors influencing secondary-school students' mathematical literacy, this paper adopts machine learning and the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) method to analyze 34,968 samples and 151 features from six East Asian education systems within the PISA 2022 dataset, aiming to pinpoint the crucial factors that affect middle-school students' mathematical literacy. First, the XGBoost model has the highest prediction accuracy for math literacy performance. Second, 15 variables were identified as significant predictors of mathematical literacy across the student population, particularly variables such as mathematics self-efficacy (MATHEFF) and expected occupational status (BSMJ). Third, mathematics self-efficacy was determined to be the most influential factor. Fourth, the factors influencing mathematical literacy vary among individual students, including the key influencing factors, the direction (positive or negative) of their impact, and the extent of this influence. Finally, based on our findings, four recommendations are proffered to enhance the mathematical literacy performance of secondary-school students.

Educational Exit and the Pursuit of a Happy Childhood Among Singaporean Middle‐Class Families

ABSTRACTOn the basis of ethnographic fieldwork in Singapore, the article explores the tension between children's academic success and emotional wellbeing, and the ways in which middle‐class parents navigate these conflicting aspirations. It delves into families with young children who pursue alternative lifestyles by moving abroad to a presumably less stressful environment or by homeschooling their children. The study aims to understand how parents who ‘opt out’ perceive their children's future and the sacrifices they make in pursuing alternative education for their children. Decisions were made to ‘protect’ the child from the potentially negative effects of a competitive education system, while pursuing an alternative childhood and school–life balance. East Asian education systems are globally renowned for their high academic standards and for producing students who score at the top on international assessment tests and rankings. In this context, alternative educational pursuits are both less established and less well understood, yet they are central to understanding emerging aspirations of wellbeing as well as the reconfiguration of conventional ideals of upward social mobility.

How (do) school experiences contribute to students’ sense of belonging?

ABSTRACT Scholars have long documented the positive influence of students’ sense of belonging on their achievement and retention; however, the variation in students’ sense of belonging has been underexplored. This paper extends previous research examining the effects of student-level characteristics (e.g., student achievement, learning attitude, experience of being bullied) and school-level characteristics (e.g., location, emphasis on academic success, disciplinary climates) on students’ sense of belonging in five East Asian educational systems (Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan). I analysed data from the 2015 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study using two-level hierarchical linear models (42,201 students in 1,241 schools). The results show that variance in students’ sense of belonging was mainly at the school level and that predictors were differently associated with sense of belonging according to system. Despite the differences, students’ learning attitudes had the strongest association with students’ sense of belonging in all educational systems included in the study, followed by their experiences with bullying. These results suggest that fostering academic belonging could be vital to increasing students’ sense of belonging, in addition to addressing their socio-psychological formation.

IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION OF ESP COURSES FOR UNIVERSITY LIBRARIANS IN CHINA AND KAZAKHSTAN

The discussed ESP module for librarians was one of eight modules developed and implemented within the DIREKT Erasmus+ project funded by the European Commission through the Capacity Building in the Higher Education Program. The aim was to improve, develop and modernise higher education systems in Asia through university cooperation. The idea behind teaching English to librarians was to equip them with an ability to provide support to academic staff and students concerning information resources, databases and research studies, which are available mainly in English. Librarians are the key link between the activities of academic staff, students and the library, therefore there is a need for librarians to reach at least an A2 level of the CEFR in English. The ESP module is aimed to develop a functional language for the library staff in authentic library situations, such as borrowing and returning books, using library jargon, providing assistance, guidance and advice in finding quality library sources and databases, referencing, citation and avoiding plagiarism. This research study aims to evaluate the implementation of the ESP module for librarians at five universities in China and Kazakhstan. Research methods applied in this study were observation, students’ questionnaires and teachers’ evaluations. To summarize the findings, it was discovered that even though the taught module was the same, there were differences in focus, teaching techniques, activities and used materials.

Learning Strategies as Moderators Between Motivation and Mathematics Performance in East Asian Students: Latent Class Analysis

This study applied a three-step latent class analysis (LCA) approach to explore latent classes of learning strategy use and their moderation effects on the relationships between motivation and mathematics performance. The data of 15-year-old students from five East Asian educational systems related to Chinese culture in the Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2012 were analyzed. The findings indicated that Shanghai, Singapore, Taiwan, and Macau showed three latent classes of learning strategies, whereas Hong Kong had two latent classes. Most students in the five educational systems reported to use the control strategy, some students reported the use of combined learning strategies, and few students reported the use of memorization except for students in Shanghai. Furthermore, we found the moderation effects of learning strategy use on mathematics performance depended on the types of motivation and educational systems. This study provides insights into the advantages of a three-step LCA approach in educational research.

Remaking higher education for the post‐COVID‐19 era: Critical reflections on marketization, internationalization and graduate employment

This Special Issue was conceived and developed following a series of international conferences held in Asia, with a particular focus on critically reflecting upon higher education development in the region from broader social and political economy perspectives. Some of the papers in this Special Issue were selected from presentations in the East Asia Social Policy (EASP) Research Network Conference successfully held in Taiwan in 2018, while others were chosen from international events held at Lingnan University in Hong Kong presenting critical reviews and reflections on internationalization, marketization and graduate employment of higher education in Asia. This introductory article puts the discussions of the selected papers in this issue in context, with critical reflections on the key issues being examined in these papers. The Special Issue is published when the world is still confronting the unprecedented global health crisis resulted from the outbreak of the COVID‐19 pandemic. This article discusses the higher education development trends in Asia through the massification, diversification and internationalisation processes in transforming the higher education system and examines how these development trends are affected by the COVID‐19 crisis.

A capacity needs assessment to integrate MOOC-based climate change education with the higher education institutions in Europe and developing countries in Asia: findings of the focused group survey in PCHEI under the BECK project

Purpose The extreme climatic events are a result of modern human lifestyles and activities. Climate literacy is one of the significant factors to redefine aggravated human behaviours related to climate change and energy efficiency. Therefore, education relevant to energy efficiency and climate change is identified as a vital requirement in the present education sector. This study aims to identify existing capacity needs for integrating massive open online courses (MOOC)-based climate education in the partner institutions education systems. Design/methodology/approach The integrating education with consumer behavior relevant to energy efficiency and climate change at the Universities of Russia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh (BECK) project funded by the Erasmus+ programme aimed to address this research gap by introducing new harmonized MOOC modules to the higher education curricular of four European, five Russian and five Asian higher education institutions (partner country higher education institutions). A series of focus group surveys and workshops were carried out to identify the present capacity development needs relevant to the subject topic. Findings Accordingly, infrastructure development, awareness-raising, curricular development, capacity building, integration and networking, research and development and financial needs have been identified as the key areas requiring capacity development to integrate energy efficiency and climate change into the higher education curricular. The results have recognized that a MOOC system in curricular will allow better opportunities for research, awareness and capacity development initiatives. Research limitations/implications The relevant European best practices can be adopted into the Asian education systems to allow more opportunities in infrastructure, research and networking development. The project continues to implement the MOOC modules in the partner institutions following a contextual research study and a cross-institutional module sharing assessment. Originality/value The research outcomes identify the significant facts for formulating the BECK project objectives, which provide wider opportunity for climate literacy improvements and education initiatives in the partner countries.

Botswana’s Education System: A Relative Analysis with South Korean Education System

Any education system has its advantages and disadvantages and the Botswana education system was developed to produce critical thinkers, problem solvers and innovative students. The system was framed to provide opportunities for all learners in order to develop their capabilities. However, the system is currently faced with a myriad of challenges as there are unprecedented proportions of graduates' unemployment, poor performance from national examinations, and dropping out of school. To bring this discussion into perspective, this paper adopts a narrative approach using literature and document analysis to examine Botswana's education system in comparison with the Asian education system. The paper seeks to learn lessons from the Asian education system; in particular, South Korea as its education systems is known to be robust and efficient in producing learners who continuously make positive changes in transforming their nation. In this regard, recommendations on what could be done to rectify the situation in Botswana in light of the South Korean education system have been made.

A new perspective on memorization practices among East Asian students based on PISA 2012

This study examined learning strategy use in mathematics among East Asian students in East Asian educational systems. By employing latent class analysis on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012 data, we found four classes of learning strategy types, namely memorization with metacognitive strategies (17.49%), metacognitive strategies with memorization (50.70%), elaboration only (10.33%), and metacognitive strategies with elaboration (16.47%). The results showed that the majority of the students in all seven East Asian educational systems belonged to the ‘metacognitive strategies with memorization’ class, and most students adopted more than one type of learning strategy when learning mathematics. Additionally, students who reported the use of metacognitive strategies along with either memorization or elaboration showed higher mathematics achievement. We conclude that the cognitive processes employed by students of East Asian backgrounds are more complex and nuanced than the previous perception that they relied heavily on memorization.

Stealth marketisation: how international school policy is quietly challenging education systems in Asia

ABSTRACTAcross Asia, the international school scene has experienced marketisation and corporatisation. A consequence is that many wealthier families – outside of expatriate communities – view international schools as a desirable choice, and they seek ways to enrol their children in international schools. States have responded to this situation through policies that manage the boundaries between public or national school systems and international schools. States have made compromises in their international school policies – compromises that allow markets to creep into the broader education systems. This mode of market creation is subtle: Neither families nor state agents advocate for ‘choice’ as a value, nor are there public discourses around international schools in the region celebrating ‘choice’ in education. The compromises made in international school policy relate to whole education systems and have implications for inequality, citizenship, and national identity.

The ‘new Orientalism’: education policy borrowing and representations of East Asia

ABSTRACT This article explores the discourses concerning, and actors promoting, the recent ‘rise’ of East Asia in the global trend of education policy borrowing. It focuses on the ways in which English policymakers and media have represented the ‘success’ of East Asian education systems in international large-scale tests. Taking the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and McKinsey as two illustrative examples, it also investigates how transnational policy actors have shaped the global knowledge production of East Asian education. This article argues that England – and more broadly Anglo-American societies – has represented high-performing East Asian societies as both an inspiration for education reforms and a threat to the domestic economy. The dominant ways of perceiving, representing and referencing East Asian education and the embedded East–West power relation are largely framed in a manner that continues the legacy of Orientalism.

Is socioeconomic status less predictive of achievement in East Asian countries? A systematic and meta-analytic review

Previous meta-analyses found a positive association between socioeconomic status and achievement in the United States, but none have attempted to synthesize the effect size in East Asia despite the accumulating research documenting this relationship. This study revealed a moderately positive overall effect size between SES and achievement in East Asian countries, comparable to the results of prior U.S. meta-analytic studies. These numbers were higher than expected in a centralized, standardized, and differentiated East Asian education system. A critical review of our total sample of 77 studies revealed a mixed picture. While half omitted any discussion of differences, the SES-achievement relationship tended to be described as weaker in East Asia, but strengthening over time and becoming increasingly similar to that observed in Western industrialized liberal economies. Wealth and achievement displayed non-linear negative associations in China, raising the need to revisit social stratification processes and their interaction with education in East Asia.

Asian educational discourse: construction of ontological security

This article considers the problem of ontology security through Asian educational discourse, which is structurally determined by the process of moral self-improvement. Considered are trends in improving the management of educational system by developing the culture of quality, which is considered as the next stage of the Asian education systems development after the “quality of education” stage. We suggest an approach for assessing the vitality of educational process and its product based on monitoring trainees’ aptitudes system and school capabilities in developing and maintaining this system. In this study we refer to the concept of vitality and viability when describing the general theory of viability in connection with the core principles of Asian educational discourse. We outline main trends in the development of modern educational system in Asian university given the process of globalization and its impact on educational reforms in the Asia-Pacific region. Thus, the category of education quality in Asian system of higher education and narrative monitoring of Chinese students’ cognitive structures viability at Altai State University are introduced.

Configuration of the Teacher–State Relationship: The Shanghai Experience

As one of the most prominent cases of high performing education systems in Asia, Shanghai has received widespread attention in recent years. The existing literature has shown that the formation of a high performing education system in Shanghai is closely associated with the high-quality teaching force. The purpose of this paper is to explore the experience of Shanghai in configuring the teacher–state relationship and building the teaching profession against China’s background of centralized education. Our analysis was framed around three key actors that have reshaped the relationship between teachers and State in the post-Mao era, including the establishment of teaching as a profession, schools, and the labor market. Based on policy analysis and empirical evidence from Shanghai, the research findings indicate Shanghai’s own experience in building the teaching profession, teachers’ professional well-being, and other subjective perceptions related to school management and the labor market.

Inter- and intra-regional dynamics on the idea of universities in East Asia: perspectives from Japan

The authors analyze the profile and dynamism of the Japanese higher education system in comparison with the higher education systems of other East Asian countries, with special reference to East–West hybrid patterns. The authors reflect on the development and transformation of Japanese higher education, especially its interaction with neighboring higher education systems. The authors argue that the stress of competition and hierarchical recognition in regional higher education settings at the macro level may impede active interaction among various Asian higher education systems and institutions. At the institutional level, however, the linkage and interaction between Japanese universities and other Asian universities have been strengthened and deepened. Now, these institutional initiatives are resulting in the convergence of the Japanese higher education with regional higher education systems in terms of institutional values and identities.

Addressing the achievement gap

PurposeDeveloping countries in many parts of the world have experienced a disturbing trend in the differential pace of economic development among urban and rural communities. These inequities have been observed in education systems in Asia, Africa, and Latin America where researchers have documented differences not only in resource allocation but also in the academic performance among students in urban and rural schools. Recently researchers have shifted their focus from examining financial and physical resources to investigating the nature and impact of differences in human resources. The purpose of this paper is to examine differences in school organization processes associated with learning-centered leadership and teacher learning among urban and rural primary schools in Thailand. Teacher trust and teacher agency were proposed as possible mediators of leadership effects on teacher learning.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a cross-sectional survey design. The authors collected survey data from 1,011 teachers and 60 principals in 30 urban and 30 rural primary schools in Thailand. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and bootstrapping were used to analyze the proposed model of leadership and teacher professional learning. More specifically, data analysis was aimed at determining the nature of relationships among the constructs in the conceptual model and whether patterns of leadership and teacher learning differed in urban and rural primary schools.FindingsThe results affirmed a model whereby school leadership exerted significant indirect effects on teacher learning in both urban and rural primary schools. Data analyses determined that the path of leadership effects moved through trust to agency and then to teacher professional learning. Thus, while the authors found a strong direct effect of leadership on teacher trust, there were only small direct effects of leadership on teacher agency and no meaningful direct effects of leadership on teacher professional learning. Thus, the research affirmed a full mediation model of leadership effects on teacher learning. Finally, the study also affirmed that the measured variables were perceived as significantly stronger in the urban schools than in the rural schools.Social implicationsThe research expands on prior research on the “achievement gap” in Thailand by demonstrating the existence of a similar “human resource gap” when comparing urban and rural school leaders and teachers. This study implies that addressing the gap in student achievement will require action aimed at building the capacity of the principals and teachers who work with the rural pupils.Originality/valueThese results suggest differences in the quality of human resources between urban and rural primary schools in Thailand. There may be potential benefit to be gained from providing training focused on “learning-centered leadership” for principals and middle level leaders, as well as expanding access to quality professional development opportunities for rural teachers.

Leading school for learning: principal practices in Taiwan

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss how principals in Taiwan lead student and teacher learning at a time of leadership and learning paradigm shifts and the imminent implementation of the curriculum guideline for 12-year basic education.Design/methodology/approachThis study interviewed 32 elementary and junior high school principals purposively sampled based on reputation and recommendation from senior principals and government officials.FindingsAs a society which values credentialism, principals in Taiwan face challenges in executing the vision of educating student as a whole person. The authors discuss how principals are solidifying whole person education as the espoused value, how they are enforcing school-based curriculum and effective instruction, and encouraging teacher professional learning. Principals are sharing power by recruiting stakeholders’ participation in guiding school development and enacting distributed leadership, while also building relationship as social capital and soliciting support from the community to establish the conditions to improve teaching and learning.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper highlights how principal practices are evolving in a time of changing conception of learning from academic achievement to multiple competencies and the shifting paradigm of power from participatory decision making to distributed leadership. This paper ends with a discussion on how leadership for learning (LfL) as a community engagement has emerged.Practical implicationsWith the shifting of the concept and paradigm of learning, principals in a high power distance society like Taiwan are now facing opportunities as well as challenges to lead teachers to engaging students in inquiry and collaboration.Originality/valueThis paper highlights the indigenous practices of principal LfL in a high-performing East Asian education system in a time of changing notions of learning and leadership.

Configuration of the Teacher-State Relationship: The Shanghai Experience

As one of the most prominent cases of high performing education systems in Asia, Shanghai has received widespread attention in recent years. The existing literature has shown that the formation of a high performing education system in Shanghai is closely associated with the high-quality teaching force. The purpose of this paper is to explore the experience of Shanghai in configuring the teacher-state relationship and building the teaching profession against China’s background of centralized education. Our analysis was framed around three key actors that have reshaped the relationship between teachers and State in the post-Mao era, including the establishment of teaching as a profession, schools, and the labor market. Based on policy analysis and empirical evidence from Shanghai, the research findings indicate Shanghai’s own experience in building the teaching profession, teachers’ professional well-being, and other subjective perceptions related to school management and the labor market.

Equity, Resilience, and Achievements in High Performing Asian Education Systems

Equity, Resilience, and Achievements in High Performing Asian Education Systems

Factors and conditions promoting academic resilience: a TIMSS-based analysis of five Asian education systems

It is well documented that academic achievement of students from families of low socioeconomic status (SES) tends to be below their more socially advantaged peers. Several studies have identified factors and conditions that facilitate academic success for disadvantaged students (i.e., promote academic resilience). However, one of the main criticisms of this body of research is in the set of variables that explain academic success for low-SES students and which is not very different from the variables that would explain academic success for all students. The objectives of this article are dual: firstly, to identify factors and conditions associated with academic success, regardless of student SES, and secondly, to identify factors and conditions associated with academic resilience, that is, exclusively for low-SES students. To this end, we used data from Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, and Japan in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011. The study sample covered 23,354 students in 720 schools in the five countries. The strategy for analysis was driven by fit of logistic regression models, first predicting the probability of academic success and then subsequent identification of variables significant as predictors for success within the pool of low-SES students. Results indicated that variables, such as positive student attitude to mathematics, teacher confidence in student performance and the test language being spoken at home, were associated with greater chances of academic success. High academic expectations and time spent on mathematics at home demonstrated a differential effect between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students in Singapore. In Korea, being male (gender) and in Taipei, low levels of bullying at school, increased the likelihood of resilience. Results suggested that interventions impacting behavior reflected in differentially associated variables could help disadvantaged students to become academically resilient.